Improvement in hats



. p, A NITED STATES ATENT -rrrca WILLIAM H. MALLoaY, or wA'rEarowN, coNNEcricUr i A IMPROVEMENT IN- HATS Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,522, dated September 8, 1863..

To all whom it may concern: A

Beit known that I, WILLIAM H. MALLORY, of Water town, in the county of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hats; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of a hat constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 represents the hat folded up for putting in the pocket or packing.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several iigures.

This invention consists in a hat having the body and brim composed of linen, cotton, silk, woolen or other cloth, or woven or other material, without any s tiening or frame, with the exception of one or more iiat steel hoops or springs, which are inserted vertically or at rightl angles to the brim into hems or tucks formed in the brim for their reception by sewing or other means, for the purpose of keeping the brim extended and yet preserving its iiexibility, such a hat being light, cheap, and capable of being twisted or folded up in such manner that it may be carried in an ordinary pocket without inconvenience. p

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

The body of the hatthat is to say, the crown and sidesmay be formed of gores A A, of any suitable fabric, sewed together, and sewed into a band, B, of suitable size for the head, or made of the required shape in any other way. The brim G may be composed of one or more thicknesses of the same or other fabric of annular form, either circular or elliptical, and sewed or otherwise united to the band B or lower edge of the body, and has formed in it around its outer edge by stitching or other means a hem or tuck, ci, of sufficient width or depth for the reception of the flat steel hoop or spring c. It may also and should preferably have formed in it by the same means at some distance both from its outer edge and from the band or body, a second tuck or hem, b, for the reception of another elastic hoop or spring, d.

I prefer to use for the hoops or springs the braided tempered flat steel wir-e, commonly used for skirt-hoops, as that material, while possessing the necessary power of retaining its shape, will not cut or wear out the fabric of which the brim is composed. It also has the necessary degreeof flexibility to permit the folding of the brim, and the said iiat springs, being applied in vertical positions or at right angles to the plane of the brim, impart the required vertical stiffness to thelatter.

In the manufacture of these hats I make the tucks or hems ci and b, before inserting the hoopsor springs c and d, leaving a short piece of each unsewed for the insertion of the hoops or springs, which are inserted, before having their ends joined, by pushing the pieces of wire of which they are composed endwise through the tucks or hems, and then securing their ends together at the said openings by means of clasps, such as are used for securing the ends of skirt-hoops. Before clasping the ends I generally extend the hoops or springs as much as possible, in order that they may stretch the fabric of which the brim is composed, as by-that means a slight curl is given to the brim, and the clasps should be so tightly applied as to preserve this extension, for the purpose of preserving the form of the brim. After applying the clasps the openings which were left for the insertion of the hoops or springs are sewed or otherwise closed up.

lo fold up the hat the flexible brim is taken hold of by the two hands at opposite points and twisted across the center, and by that means three coils may be given to the springs or loops, so that a hat having a brim of a foot in diameter will fold up into a circle of about four and a half inches and a thickness of about half an inch.

I have described the hat as made without stiffening; but by this I mean without such a degree of stiftening as would render the hat inflexible or only iiexible in a slight degree.

I am aware that flexible hats have before been provided with hoops to impart and preserve the required form of the brim, and, further, that it has been proposed to make such hoops of wire and apply them in such a way that they would admit of twisting and folding in coils, but by the use for this purpose of covered iiat steel springs the fabric of the brim "l u ouin extended and held in shape by means of covered, flat, steel springs, applied in perpendicular positions, all as herein described, and for the purposes specified. A

WILLIAM H. MALLORY.

Witnesses D. ROBERTSON, GEO. W. REED. 

